Bed attachment



NOV. 8; 1938. R M. STEVENS, 5 2,136,088

BED ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 17, 1937 INVENTOR V TORN Y5.

Patented Nov. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFICE BED ATTACHMENT Richard M. Stevens, Sr., Southfields, N. Y., as-

signor to Frank A. Hall & Sons, New York,

Application August 17,

2 Claims.

My present invention relates to beds and aims to provide certain improvements therein. More particularly, it has to do with side wall attachments for beds for preventing a person lying on the bed from accidentally rolling or falling off the bed due to any cause whatsoever.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a "simple and practical side wall attachment for a bed which can be readily attached to the bed without the aid of tools. A further object is to provide such attachment in which the guard wall can be readily lowered to gain access to the person lying on the bed. A further object is to provide such attachment in which the guard wall is hingedly connected to a supporting frame and can be moved into inoperative position by a simple manipulation of latching means. A further object is to provide such side wall attachment which, in either operative or inoperative position, will be free from projections and protuberances which may cause damage or injury to a person or to the clothing of such person when attending to the person lying on the bed. A further object is to provide such attachment which is automatically adjustable to bed frames of different lengths and different types. A further object is to provide such attachment which can be madeto harmonize with the outline of the bed and thereby not detract from the appearance of the bed.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention not specifically enumerated I accomplish byproviding a side wall attachment comprising a supporting frame, having a pair of telescoping sections, the free ends of which are formed to engage the end posts or uprights at the head and foot sections of the bed frame and to thereat rest upon the side rail locks or other projections or cross pieces, and a guard wall hingedly connected to the supporting frame adapted to be held in operative position by suitable latching means. The construction and operation of my invention will be better understood from thedetailed description which follows, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment and in. which Figure l is a side elevational view of a embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fractional top plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of one end portion of the side wall attachment with parts thereof broken away to better show the construction thereof;

bed

1937, Serial No. 159,477

Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially along. the line 4- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the opposite end portion of the supporting frame with parts thereof broken away to better show the construction thereof.

Referring to the drawing, let the reference numeral l0 indicate a head section and H a foot section of a bed frame, the said sections being held in upright position by connecting side rails (not shown) suitably fitting within side rail locks l2 and I3 on the head and the foot sections respectively. The head and the foot sections are preferably of the type which are formed with upright end posts herein shown as being of circular cross section. The bed frame is provided with a suitable bed bottom, spring and mattress which in the drawing are shown as covered by a bed sheet I l. The bed frame structure may be of any conventional form and per se does not form a part of the present invention.

To prevent a person lying on the bed. from rolling or falling therefrom due to restlessness, after effects of an opiate, or from any other cause, while at the same time providing for easy access to such person by a nurse or physician, I provide the bed frame with detachable side walls which, as herein shown, consist of a supporting frame-section I5, and a guard rail section l6. 1

The supporting frame as herein shown consists of a substantially L-shaped member having an upright or vertical tubular leg l1, and a pair of spaced horizontally extending tubular members l8 and I9, suitably welded to the upright leg and suitably connected together by spaced reenforcing member 20. Extending into and telescoping with the tubular members l8 and I9 are a pair of tubular members or rods 2! and 22 respectively, which are connected together by a spacing and reinforcing member 23, the member 22 being longer than and extending beyond the outer end of the member 2 Mounted within the tubular member l9 at. the end which accommodates the member 22, is a coil spring 24; one end of which bears against a stop pin 25, and the other end of which bears against the inner end of the member 22 to exert pressure thereon tending to hold the members l9 and 22 in distended relation. The member 22 at its free end is formed with, or has attached thereto, a substantially U-shaped or bifurcated member 26 which is adapted. to straddle the end post of the foot section I l and rest upon the side rail lock l3 thereof. The telescoping relation of the member 21 in respect to the tubular member 18 has the primary function of guiding the rod 22 in its movements and maintaining the U-shaped member 26 in its proper relation with respect to the end posts.

The upright leg I! of the supporting frame adjacent its top and its bottom is formed with or has attached thereto U-shaped or bifurcated members 21 and 28 for straddling the end post of the head section In, the member 28 resting upon the side rail lock l2 carried by the end post of the head section Hi. The upright member ll intermediate its ends may be formed with an eye member 29 for accommodating a strap or other tying element 30 for fixedly holding the upright member in its complemental relation to the end post of the head section It as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. Mounted Within the upright member ii is a plunger 3| to which is connected a rod 32, the lower end of which extends through the bottom of the said upright member and may be formed with a stop ring or finger-engaging portion 33. Encircling the rod 32 within the member ll is a coil spring 34 which is mounted to normally exert an upward pressure upon the plunger 3! to move it outwardly through the top of the tubular member ll. Such movement may be limited by the enlarged ring 33 or by other suitable means. The top of the plunger 3! is preferably dome-shaped to constitute a detent, the function for which will presently be made apparent.

The guard wall section [6, as herein disclosed, consists of a substantially rectangular frame having a top rail member 35, a bottom rail member 33, end rails 31 and 3B, and intermediate filler rails 39. Preferably in its normally operative position, that is in its vertical position, it extends upwardly above the bed bottom and lies in a common plane with the supporting frame l5. To facilitate moving the guard wall into inoperative position, I preferably hingedly connect it to the supporting frame so as to be movable about a horizontal pivot. To accomplish this the tubular member is of the supporting frame section is formed with spaced outwardly extending hinge lugs it? and the bottom rail 36 of the guard wall section is formed with complemental outwardly extending lugs 4|, which, together with hinge pins (not shown) passing therethrough, constitutes the hingedly connecting medium. Preferably the lugs 43 and ll extend outwardly with respect to the bed bottom a distance suihcient to permit of the guard wall section being swung outwardly and downwardly into parallel overlying relation to the supporting frame section as shown by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 1.

For normally holding the guard wall it in its operative position the top rail 35 is made to extend slightly beyond the end rail 37 as indicated at 42, or in overlying relation to the top of the upright member II. The extending end 42 on its underside is formed with an opening 3 into which the head of the plunger 3i may engage and thus constitute a latch for holding the guard rail member in its operative position.

The side wall attachment, as hereinbefore described, it will be appreciated, is capable of use with bed frames of varying lengths since it will be apparent that the spring 24 will normally urge the end post engaging means 26 outwardly 2,136,088 k W I to the limit of the overlapping relation of the telescoping members I9 and 22. It will also be apparent that where the side wall attachments are to be provided on the opposite sides of a bed that the two side wall attachments will bear the relationship to one another as an object to its mirror image.

In the use of the device, it will be apparent that all that is necessary to attach the side wall attachment to a bed is to first move the telescoping sections of the supporting frame together against the tension of the spring 24 so as to permit said supporting members to engage between the end posts at the head and the foot sections of a bed where, upon releasing the pressure said spring will move the U-shaped members 26, 21 and 28 into engaging relation with'the respective'bed posts and in view of the weight of said side wall attachment the U-shaped members 26 and 28 will rest upon the side locks l2 and [3 or other suitable projections with which the bed end sections may be formed. When the side wall attachment is in place a strap or other tying means such as 30 may be passed through the eye 29 and around the end post of the head section to fixedly hold the supporting frame section of the side wall in position. For gaining access to a person lying on the bed, all that is necessary is to pull downwardly on the ring 33 to disengage the plunger 3! from the opening 43 whereupon the side wall section IS may be moved outwardly and downwardly into the dot and dash position shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that when the side wall attachment is in either operative or inoperative position it will be free from projections and protuberances which might cause annoyance to persons engaged about the bed. It will also be apparent that the side wall attachment can be quickly and easily applied and removed from a bed by a person without the aid of tools, and further that it may be provided with a finish to harmonize with the finish of the bed to which it is to be applied. To prevent marring of the enamel or paint on the bed frame due to the engagement of the U-shaped members with the posts thereof, the U-shaped members may be lined with rubber, leather, felt, or other suitable material 44.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention and the manner in which it is to be used, I do not wish to be limited to the specific structural features thereof, or to the specific forms and shapes of the side Wall sections since these may be modified within the range of mechanical skill without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A quickly detachable side wall attachment for beds having vertical end posts, comprising an L-shaped supporting frame, the horizontal leg of which has longitudinally telescoping parts, one

of which is fixed to the vertical leg of the L- shaped frame, spring means normally urging said telescoping parts into distended'relation, and a guard wall section of lesser length than the supporting frame section hingedly connected to the horizontal fixed leg of the supporting frame section, means on the legs of the L-shaped supporting frame section for straddling the end posts on a bed frame, and cooperating latching means on the guard wall section and on the supporting frame section for' detachably holding said sections in substantially a common plane.

2. A bed frame having a head section, a foot section and a side wall section, said head and foot sections having vertical end posts with lugs thereon and said side wall sections comprising an L-shaped supporting frame, the horizontal leg of which has longitudinally telescoping parts one of which is fixed to the vertical leg of the L-shaped frame, spring means normally urging said telescoping parts into distended relation, and a vertical guard wall hingedly connected to the 10 horizontal fixed leg of the supporting frame,

means on the legs of the L-shaped supporting frame for straddling the posts on the head and the foot sections, respectively, and adapted to seat on the lugs on said posts to support the frame, and cooperating latching means on the guard wall and on the supporting frame for detachably holding the guard wall in operative guarding relation. 

